The former major-league pitcher played Santa Claus but was not handing out presents to children. The 1985 National League Cy Young Award winner, who was dressed up as St. Nick for the first time, instead posed with dancers at the Vivid Cabaret in New York City, a club The New York Times said “is politely described” as a gentlemen’s club.

“It’s Christmastime, and I got a lot of presents to buy,” said Gooden, who made more than $36 million during his 16-year career. “I got seven kids, four grandkids, with another on the way any minute now, and two ex-wives. So every dollar counts.”

While the amount Gooden was paid was not revealed, the Times, quoting an anonymous source, said the former right-handed pitcher was paid $500. Gooden is not the first former member of the New York Mets to play Santa at the club, the Times reported. Former teammate Len Dykstra -- who, like Gooden steered the Mets to a World Series title in 1986 -- donned a wig and a red suit to the club last year.

Gooden, who lives in Piscataway, New Jersey, in a rented apartment, said his life is in order now, a statement in stark contrast to the substance abuse problems he had during his playing career. Those addictions also followed him after he retired from the game in 2000.

But Gooden makes appearances at memorabilia shows to sign autographs and has just begun selling a line of T-shirts, caps and sweatshirts that carry a silhouette of the pitcher’s high leg kick on his website, Goodenbrand.com.

“My life is pretty good right now,” Gooden told the Times.

Gooden, 53, said he is receiving pension money from the players’ union. For a player with 10 years of major-league service time who waits until he is 62, that amounts to $210,000 a year. Gooden took the pension early and is receiving a reduced amount, the Times reported.

“I’m taking it not so much for me but for my kids,” he said. “I mean, I’m 53 now and you never know. If anything happens to me, my kids get it. And I wouldn’t have collected it, then the ex-wives would get it.”

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and the Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve nabbed the honors from the vaunted sports publication thanks to Watt’s massive collection efforts on the part of Hurricane Harvey relief, and Altuve’s ability to bring home a World Series title to a city still reeling in the aftermath of the storm.

By the third week of September, less than a month after Hurricane Harvey had devastated Houston and its surrounding region, Watt had raised more than $37 million in relief aid. The SOTY candidacy of the Texans’ defensive end was unaffected by the gruesome, season-ending leg injury he suffered in Week 5. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year—the best defensive player of his generation, really—could have had the best season of his career, or the worst. His place as a Sportsperson of the Year had already been engraved.

“Nothing J.J. Watt has achieved in his career, or might still achieve, will measure up to what he did for Houston,” Peter King, The MMQB’s editor-in-chief, said.

For Altuve’s part, the American League MVP was lauded for his inspirational impact on the city:

The 5′ 6″ Altuve had his own contribution to Houston’s post-storm recovery. The personal journey of the Astros second baseman is an inspirational one, a classic tale of an underestimated athlete overcoming the longest of odds. And this fall, Altuve was the joyous catalyst for one of the most unlikely World Series runs in recent memory. Championships don’t save communities, and we should be careful to assign too much weight to their powers of healing. But what other event can bring a million-plus people together and provide a platform, however ephemeral, to cast aside the differences that drive so many of us to sports in the first place?

“The city of Houston has treated me really good,” Altuve told S.I.’s Tom Verducci. “I felt at that time that I owed them something. So when they were having a hard time, I wanted to give something back to them.”

Gallery Furniture is paying off on a wager it made with customers, KTRK reported. This year, the company bet that if the Astros won the World Series, customers who spent at least $3,000 on mattresses would receive a full refund.

The losing bet cost Gallery Furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale $10 million in refunds, but he said the promotion was worth it, KTRK reported

had to refund $10 million, he said the promotion was worth it.

Gallery Furniture began issuing refund checks Sunday night, and the line wrapped around the store, KTRK reported.

The refunds will go a long way toward helping some Astros fans who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey in August.

“I'm going to buy new furniture, a new couch because we had to throw everything out,” Thelma Rosenberg told KTRK.

During the hurricane and its aftermath, McIngvale opened his stores to flood evacuees, who slept in the warehouses until the waters receded.

McIngvale was not sure if he’d have an encore wager next season as the Astros defend their World Series crown.

Born in Los Angeles on April 7, 1918, Doerr was the oldest living Major League Baseball League player prior to his death.

He's also the only member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame to live to be 99 years old.

“Bobby Doerr was part of an era of baseball giants and still stood out as one himself,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry said Tuesday. “And even with his Hall of Fame achievements at second base, his character and personality outshined it all. He will be missed.”

“There is something fitting about Bobby Doerr becoming the patriarch of baseball, outliving all of those he played with and against,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Bobby was a special player, to be sure, a Hall of Famer, but he also commanded universal respect from all those fortunate enough to have crossed his path. We celebrated his return every time he came back to us here at Fenway Park, and we now mourn his passing, grateful for the wonderful memories he left.”>> Visit Boston25News.com for complete coverage

The bride wore a long-sleeved lace gown while her groom donned a classic black tux. E! News reports that the nuptials took place at the Rosewood Castiglion Del Bosco resort, and the ceremony was in a medieval church on top of a hill overlooking the Montalcino Valley and vineyards.

“I’m really excited. He asked me right before season started so we’ve been keeping it on the down low for quite a while,” she told E! at the time. “So, I’m excited to finally be able to share it with the world!”

“I always believed that we could make it,” All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve said after the game. “We did this for them.”

George Springer led off the evening with a double against Darvish, and soon it was 2-0. Springer hit his fifth homer — tying the mark set by Reggie Jackson and matched by Chase Utley — when he connected for a record fourth game in a row, making it 5-0 in the second inning.

“We’re coming home a champion, Houston,” Springer said after accepting the World Series MVP trophy named this year after Willie Mays for the first time.

Altuve, one of four carry-overs from a club that lost an embarrassing 111 times in 2013 after switching from the NL to the AL, and this collection of young stars silenced Dodger Stadium from the get-go.

“It’s one of the biggest accomplishments in my life,” Correa said of the World Series win. “And right now I’m about to take another big step in my life. Daniella Rodriguez, you make me the happiest man in the world. Will you marry me?"

Tickets to a World Series game are always a hot item, and demand for the first two games in Los Angeles this week caused prices to soar into four-digit territory. Meanwhile, a Dodgers fan in California bought his tickets for $9.08.

>> Read more trending news

That’s not a typo: $9.08.

Jordan Benedict was searching for tickets for Game 2 on StubHub when he stumbled across the incredible deal.

According to TicketIQ, a firm that tracks ticket sales and availability, the average asking price for games in Los Angeles were $3,164 per ticket. What Benedict found seemed too good to be true.

“I knew these tickets must have been posted at the wrong price, but it was too good to not make an effort of trying to buy them,” Benedict wrote on his Facebook page. “I completed the purchase and was delivered the tickets to my email and the app.”

Just to be sure, since it “was such an insane deal,” Benedict contacted StubHub, which initially told him they would refund his money. But after talking with a supervisor, Benedict’s $9.08 price was honored, but in a different section of Dodger Stadium, KCBS reported.

“I know ticketing services get a bad wrap (sic) for multiple reasons, but StubHub really stepped it up and did something amazing to honor the purchase I made,” Benedict wrote on Facebook. “With that being said, I am going to the World Series for $9.08!”

Benedict got to watch a classic, as the Houston Astros defeated the Dodgers 7-6 in 11 innings on Wednesday night to even the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Game 1 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles, and already this will be a historic Fall Classic. Here’s how:

Astros complete unprecedented double

By winning Game 7, the Astros became the first major-league team to reach the World Series by winning pennants in both leagues.

In 2005, Houston defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in six games to win the National League pennant. The Astros entered the postseason as a wild-card team and defeated the Atlanta Braves in four games to reach the National League Championship Series.That elusive winThe Astros' next win in the World Series will be their first. Houston was swept in four games by the Chicago White Sox in 2005.

The century club

The Dodgers won 104 games during the 2017 regular season, while the Astros captured 101 victories. It’s the first World Series showcasing a pair of 100-game winners since 1970 when the Baltimore Orioles (108-54) defeated the Cincinnati Reds (102-60) in five games.Playoff historyThe Dodgers and Astros have met in the playoffs before, but both as members of the National League.In the 1981 season, a 50-day players strike erased nearly 40 percent of the schedule. Major League Baseball decided to split the season and declared that the champions of each half meet in a first-round of the playoffs. In a weird way, this postseason was the ancestor of the divisional series now employed by MLB.In 1981, the Dodgers, who won the first half of the NL West Division, faced the Astros, who took the second half. The Dodgers qualified for the postseason with a 36-21 record in the first half of the season and went just 27-26 in the second half. Houston, meanwhile, went 28-29 in the first half but took the division title in the second half with a 33-20 mark.The two teams met to determine the overall NL West champion, and the Dodgers prevailed in a five-game series.Rookie influence

If the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger wins NL Rookie of the Year honors as expected, he will become the first award winner to play in the World Series as a rookie since San Francisco’s Buster Posey competed in 2010.